There are more households with cars in rural areas than in towns, not least because local services, like supermarkets, chemists and hospitals, tend to be farther away and public transport is largely inadequate.

As a result, traffic is growing faster on rural minor roads than anywhere else in the UK.

Rural agencies want integrated public transport and better future planning. But in the meantime, the biggest losers appear to be the 15% of rural households who cannot afford a carů